While caring for a baby, one of the tasks that many find trying is the process of heating a baby bottle to feed an infant. One must be aware to heat the bottle to the correct temperature and heat for an appropriate amount of time. Many methods of warming baby nursing bottles and the contained liquid exist varying in complexity from simply putting the bottle in a container of hot water, to microwaving the bottle, to using heating unit particularly suited for receiving bottle containers. A parent must be careful not to warm the bottle for too long in warm water; otherwise harmful germs might grow in the formula. Microwave heating can lead to hot spots due to the uneven heating which could burn the baby's mouth.
Recent studies suggest that mixing powdered formula with water at a temperature of at least 70 degrees Celsius (70° C.) (158 degrees Fahrenheit (158° F.)) creates a high probability that the formula will not contain the bacterium and germs which can cause bloodstream and central nervous system infections.
To obtain such a temperature often requires much time and even some return visits to the kitchen to make it just right. These steps must all be accomplished while perhaps the baby is crying and stress levels are at their highest for the parent or care provider. If others such as babysitters, siblings or grandparents should care for the baby, proper bottle heating is often a hit or miss proposition due to inexperience.
Various attempts have been made in the past to overcome these disadvantages and provide a baby nursing bottle having a means of exterior protection without the aforementioned problems. Among the relevant attempts to address these problems are several U.S. patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,597,435; 4,922,810; 5,339,725; and 5,473,972.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,588, issued in the name of Ephraim, describes a baby nursing bottle with temperature indicator comprising a feeding bottle having a sealed elongated chamber containing a liquid crystal strip thermometer which provides a means indicating the temperature of the bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,588, issued in the name of Mahlich, describes a device for preparing milk froth for milk-coffee beverages comprising a superheated steam generator and a steam pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,031, issued in the name of Jensen, describes a baby milk warmer comprising a housing which supports a bottle of water, a heater or heating selected amounts of water, a flexible tube which interconnects the bottle to the heater, and a metering valve which allows a selected amount of water to enter the heater. The heated water is added to an amount of baby formula in the bottle.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffers from one or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which baby bottles can be heated in an automated and quick manner thus ensuring the utmost in quality and consistency for the baby, while reducing stress and time requirements on the parent or care provider as well. The development of the invention herein described fulfills this need.